Australian shares posted their first weekly gain in four weeks on Friday, as significant gains in real estate firms pushed the benchmark higher although fears of an impending global recession and the festering Sino-US trade spat kept investors cautious. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.3% higher at 6,523.10 and the benchmark gained over 1.8% for the week. Most property stocks gained with the sector index tacking on 2.3%.
Goodman Group finished more than 4% higher to stand among the top percentage gainers on the benchmark after the firm reported a more than a 48% jump in annual profit. Underpinning positive sentiment in the real estate sector, Dexus, Charter Hall Group and Mirvac Group gained as much as between 1% and 3%.
Heavyweight financials gained about 0.2% in a volatile session for the sector, with three of the "Big Four" banks ending the session higher. Overall gains, however, were capped by declines in the mining sector, with gold stocks off for a sixth straight session. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell about 1% to 10,622.35.